The current state of affairs in Iraq has been the culmination of roughly a decade of unpleasant and even hostile quarrels between Iraq's controversial dictator Saddam Hussein and presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. Tensions have seemed to have risen to an unprecedented level and now war looks inevitable. More importantly are the circumstances that have led to this present predicament.
The conflict seemed to have originated during the first Bush administration, with the clash deriving from Iraq's expiring funds. 'Although Iraq had considerable oil reserves of her own, revenues were not sufficient to meet the demands of her creditors. This problem was exacerbated in 1990 when Kuwait and other oil states began to lower oil prices and increase production beyond agreed upon levels.' Saddam Hussein's Iraq in turn was forced to take military action against Kuwait and did so promptly, annexing Kuwait with minimal resistance. Fearing Saddam's impending threat, the Saudi Arabians called upon the United States and president George H.W. Bush to assist.
Saddam Hussein detained several Westerners, with v...
English: Former President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein,...
Egyptian troops stand ready for review by King Fah...President Bush had many adequate reasons to step in when he did aside from the Saudi call and it had been the best of his interests to prevent Saddam from making any further actions. It had been well known that Saddam Hussein was on the brink of developing nuclear capabilities and that he possessed weapons of mass destructions. At the time, he potentially had the ability to launch a full scale chemical attack which could devastate a wide range of people. Also, the threat of invasion on Saudi Arabia raised many concerns internationally. Iraq already maintained possession of twenty percent of the world's oil and with his invasion on Kuwait and probable offensive in Saudi Arabia, Saddam could control enough of the world's oil to influence markets all over the globe. As a...